I think the words "up to" and "nearest" when referring to the meter rulings need to be more defined.
It seems to me that in certain situations they could contradict each other.

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
- Anonymous

Comment

It seems to me that in certain situations they could contradict each other.

Not when "nearest" has priority over "up to".

Hath this whole world been mired in madness?
Remain ye men of faculty complete,
Of full arithmetic and prudence fair,
Attending to our noble bond and contract?
Or does here stand the last remaining man
To give a fig for rules and order yet,
No noble savage, but a stave unbroken
Who loves the law and bids it no misdeed.
Iíll not be bent to lawlessness. Mark it nought, if we be men of honour.

Comment

The way I interpret this scenario is as follows: Disc lands in a large pile of debris that was left over from a work party. Due to the size of the pile, it would be unsafe for the player to climb up and throw. The player digs out his disc and moves backwards to immediately behind the pile - the first place where he can get solid and safe footing. The player does not get to automatically go back 5 meters simply because that would give him a better look.

Comment

Note that the underlying reason for casual relief is not safety but that the obstacle was not intended to be part of the course design. That goes for casual water, vehicles, player equipment and downed sticks-branches-trunks whether they show up on the course the day of the event (rain, vehicles) or they were never cleared in the first place as in brush piles or sticks that fell down or were never picked up since the course was installed. Same with harmful animals that randomly may show up on the hole. Whereas, harmful plants have been growing in the same location for some period of time and the designer could have marked the area for relief or removed them if the designer did not "intend" to leave them as part of the challenges on the hole. That's partly why there's no free relief from them.

Comment

"B. Casual Obstacles to a Stance: A player may obtain relief only from the following obstacles that are in the stance or run-up area: casual water, loose leaves or debris, broken branches no longer connected to a tree, motor vehicles, harmful insects or animals, players' equipment, people, or any item or area specifically designated by the director before the round. The player must first attempt to remove the obstacle. If it is impractical to move the obstacle, the player's lie may be relocated to the nearest lie which is no closer to the hole, is on the line of play, and is not more than five meters from the original lie, as agreed to by a majority of the group or an official (unless greater casual relief is announced by the director)."